Chapter 864: The Story of Ling and Heng (127)
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Feng Ling placed the two bags on the coffee table in his room and began searching through it. She took the things out one by one while explaining the contents.
“These are Auntie Jie Li’s signature dishes, and this is Uncle Han’s fried chicken. I specially made a trip to the cafeteria to pick these up.”
“Oh yes, Auntie Jie Li instructed me to bring this to you. She said that, although you rarely visit the cafeteria, you always order this when you do. She said that she learned to make this meat stew from a chef in North China. It’s tough to find similar dishes in Los Angeles…”
“There’s also steak!”
—-
After taking everything out, Feng Ling arranged all of the dishes neatly on the table in satisfaction. She then brought out the bottles of alcohol before turning to speak.
However, the moment she spun around, she bumped into the man’s chest. Feng Ling faltered and rushed to take a step back, only to realize that she was already pressing against the table. There was no space for her to move.
She raised her head to look at Li Nanheng, who had pressed so close to her without her realization.
The man glanced down at her somewhat flustered expression.
Feng Ling typically maintained a composed and apathetic mask. It was rare for her to appear lost. Yet, whenever she revealed such an expression, the man’s heart would feel especially itchy.
“Why did you bring so many dishes to go with alcohol?”
“Isn’t it Fattie’s birthday today? They said that you’re not attending today, and coincidentally I don’t wish to go either. It’s rare for the Team One and the sniper team’s place to be so quiet, so I went to pack these to share with you, Boss,” Feng Ling shifted away as she answered, gripping the edge of the table with her hands. She tried her best to maintain a safe distance from the man who was emitting a repressive aura.
Li Nanheng glanced at the feast behind her, asking mildly, “What about the alcohol?”
“Didn’t I already say? Drillmaster Han told me…”
“What did he tell you?”
“He didn’t say much. He only told me to go take a few bottles of alcohol from his place…”
“Alcohol?” The man lowered his eyes to watch the teen, who kept making futile attempts to back away. He spoke coldly: “Did you think I won’t know what he is planning? You’re trying to get me drunk, en?”
Feng Ling: “…”
The heavy pressure from the man became more and more apparent. Feng Ling abruptly raised her hands to push him away but was unsuccessful. Her palms pressed stiffly against him, before she awkwardly placed them down: “Boss, I only brought these drinks and alcohol to share with you. It’s not as complicated as you think!”
As she spoke, she curled her hand into a fist and pushed him away firmly. After forcing the man away by an arm’s length, she immediately turned to escape from this dangerous space around him.
Yet, the moment she passed by him, a tight grip wrapped around her elbow. The man caught her, glancing at her from the side mildly: “Didn’t you say you want to eat together? Why are you running away?”
Feng Ling faltered. She tried to tug her arm out but was unsuccessful, and could only turn to meet his gaze: “I do want to eat with you. But Boss, can you let go of me first?”
As she spoke, she looked at his arm: “Didn’t the doctor say that you can’t exert too much force with your arm right now? Otherwise, you might face problems with that arm in the future.”
Due to his injury, Feng Ling did not dare to struggle with too much force. She could only allow him to hold onto her wrist as she stood there stiffly.
She was the one who had taken the initiative to look for him, but because Li Nanheng easily saw through her intentions and understood that she had come to get him drunk, she did not dare to look him in the eye.
Li Nanheng watched her with a complex gaze for a moment before releasing her. Feng Ling instantly backed away and resisted the urge to rub her wrist. She adjusted her clothes and collar.
“Sit down. Eat,” the man instructed.
This atmosphere… was completely unlike what she had expected. Even though she was the one who had taken the initiative, in the span of a few minutes, she had become the passive party— the sort of passive party who did not even have sufficient reasons to escape.
She did not move.
Li Nanheng did not rush her. He casually picked up a bottle of alcohol and took out the two cups she had placed in the bag. He put the cups by the side and filled them to the brim.
“Even if you wish to get me drunk, first of all, you’ll have to beat me in drinking.” The man picked up a cup and placed it before her. His pupils were a frigid ink-black.
“Boss, you’ve misunderstood.” Feng Ling placed her hands down and turned to him. “I’ll be blunt here. I was only hoping to use the alcohol to resolve the cold war between us. I don’t wish for the situation to persists. Also, with regards to the problem you brought up previously, about my dishonesty, I was also hoping to provide a good explanation. No matter if it was a misunderstanding or not, it’s still better for me to clarify everything.”
She paused for a moment before continuing: “And indeed, it’s as you say, Boss. These few bottles of alcohol can’t get you drunk. I’m well aware of that fact.”
Li Nanheng continued holding the glass of alcohol before her; his apathetic voice was unhurried: “Then drink it.”
Feng Ling glanced at the cup filled to the brim. “Boss, my alcohol tolerance isn’t good. You should know this as well…”
“Didn’t you say you were hoping to talk to me over the drinks? If you don’t even drink a single sip, am I suppose to finish all four bottles? I’ll drink, and you’ll watch? Who gave you the courage and confidence to do this?” Although the man’s lips were smiling, his gaze remained cold as he quickly saw through her thoughts.
Feng Ling’s gaze faltered. She reached out to receive the cup and after hesitating for a moment, she took a sip. She was about to place the cup down when she met Li Nanheng’s heavy and measuring gaze. After a moment of internal conflict, she could only down the entire glass of alcohol.
Li Nanheng had filled her cup with the bottle that had the highest alcohol percentage. She wasn’t sure where Han Jin had found it, but the label indicated that it was a fermented soybean spirit with a sixty-five percent alcohol content, and it was manufactured in China.
Here in America, Feng Ling had mostly tasted the Western red wines and other types of alcohol common here. Those mostly had low alcohol percentages, and even then, she would usually be done after two to three glasses.
After downing the cup, she immediately experienced a burning sensation in her throat, followed by intense heat in her stomach.
Feng Ling held the empty cup and struggled to adapt to the sensation. After all, this was her first time tasting such a strong drink.
Could this be considered picking up a heavy stone only to smash it on her own feet? Even though she knew that her alcohol tolerance was way worse than Li Nanheng, she still chose these bottles with a high alcohol percentage. In the end, she was actually the first one to drink it.
Li Nanheng shifted his gaze away from her and picked up the other cup. He downed the whole glass before placing it back down on the table. The clear sound of the glass knocking against the table caused Feng Ling to raise her eyes subconsciously.